A California-based electric vehicle maker is suing the state's Registrar of Motor Vehicles, saying Ohio law prevents it from selling cars in the state while letting Tesla do precisely that.
Rivian, a manufacturer of electric vehicles, filed the lawsuit on Aug. 4 in U.S. District Court in Columbus, asking the court to determine that the provision of Ohio's law violates the Fourteenth Amendment equal protection rights of Ohio consumers.
According to the lawsuit, a 2014 Ohio law allows the Registrar of Motor Vehicles to deny a license for a motor vehicle dealer to "a manufacturer, or a parent company, subsidiary or affiliated entity of a manufacturer."
"Shortly thereafter, and to cut-off future competition, OADA (the Ohio Automobile Dealerships Association) lobbied the Ohio General Assembly to enact a law that would prohibit the direct-sales-only business model for every manufacturer but Tesla," the lawsuit says.
At the time the law was enacted in 2014, Tesla had two dealerships in Ohio and has since opened a third.
Like Tesla, Rivian does not use franchised dealerships but operates its own dealerships in 16 states.
"Ohio law permits manufacturers like Rivian to do practically anything other than sell vehicles in the state directly to consumers," the lawsuit says.
This includes performing service on vehicles, renting vehicles, delivering vehicles to Ohioans who have purchased them in other states, and assisting with financing, titling, and registration of the vehicles.
"If Rivian, LLC obtains the relief sought in this lawsuit, it will take every step necessary to obtain an Ohio dealership license and sell its vehicles in Ohio directly to consumers," the lawsuit says. "There is nothing unfair about Rivian selling its own vehicles to consumers in Ohio without using any middlemen, as Ohio already permits certain manufacturers to do."
The lawsuit requests that a federal judge allow Rivian to operate in Ohio, allowing for increased competition and consumer choice in the electric vehicle market.
In January, the Department of Energy under President Joe Biden's administration approved a $6.5 billion loan to Rivianfor assistance in building a second manufacturing plant in Georgia. The company currently has a manufacturing plant in Illinois.
No court date has been set, according to federal court records.
Reporter Bethany Bruner can be reached at [email protected] or on Bluesky at @bethanybruner.dispatch.com.
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: EV maker Rivian sues Ohio, citing Tesla's presence
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